Karaikal Port In Talks With Carlyle Group - The operator of Karaikal port in Puducherry is in talks with private equity (PE) companies, including Carlyle Group, to raise funds as it seeks to expand capacity.Mumbai-listed marine infrastructure firm Marg Ltd, which controls Karaikal Port Pvt. Ltd.

Marg was awarded a 30-year contract in 2006 by the government of Puducherry to develop a port at Karaikal with a capacity to load 47 million tonnes (mt) in three phases costing around Rs 3,300 crore.

Karbonn To Raise Rs 600Cr PE Funding - United Telelinks Ltd., the maker of Karbonn branded mobile phones, is planning to sell a 15% stake in the unlisted company to private equity firms for $135.2 million as the Indian handset maker seeks to expand its business. Karbonn expects to strike a deal after October, when the value of his firm is likely to touch about Rs 4,000 crore. (Dow Jones)

Repro India To Buy Macmillan BPO - Outsourced printing firm and India’s largest books exporter, Repro India Ltd, is believed to have bought a controlling stake in the Indian arm of business process outsourcing firm MPS Ltd, owned by UK-based publisher Macmillan. Shares of MPS spurted 13.3% on the buzz to Rs 45.90 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange while the stock of Repro, which counts Penguin Books, Pearson and Oxford University Press among its clients, rose 8.45% to Rs 146.95 at close on Wednesday. (DNA)

Rajat Gupta Sells Stake In TMB - Former McKinsey chief Rajat Gupta has bailed out of the controversial shareholding in Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) after offloading shares to European family office Liberties Strategic Services. Gupta no longer holds 4.9% stake, which he held through an escrow account in Mauritius, and has exited the investment at a premium. (Times of India)

Phoenix Mills Eyes Acquisitions - Realty firm Phoenix Mills Ltd plans to buy underperforming malls and turn them around to attempt becoming the largest mall developer in India. Phoenix has been able to keep its debt to equity (DE) ratio under check by roping in various investors. Its DE ratio of 0.4 in the year ended 31 March 2010 is expected to increase to 0.5 in FY13, once all the projects are on stream.

RCom-Digicable Under Ministry Scrutiny - Reliance Communications’ (RCom’s) deal to buy cable operator Digicable has come under the scanner of the information & broadcasting (I&B) ministry over the issue of cross-holding rules. Cable and DTH companies cannot hold more than 20% stake in each other. In July last year, RCom had announced the formation of a new entity, Reliance Digicom, through acquisition of Digicable in an all-stock deal. (Business Standard)

DE Shaw-Amar Ujala May Come Under ED Probe - Reserve Bank of India has asked the government to consider a probe by Enforcement Directorate into alleged violations of foreign exchange regulations by global private equity major DE Shaw in a Rs 117-crore deal. The matter relates to an 18% stake purchase by DE Shaw in Amar Ujala in 2007, but the Indian print media company later accused the US-based company of indulging in fraudulent practices in this deal. (Economic Times)

Blackstone Backs Out Of Visa Power Deal - Private equity (PE) player Blackstone Advisors India Pvt Ltd has backed out of final stage talks to invest about Rs 500 crore in Kolkata-based Visa Power’s 1,200-Mw power plant in Chhattisgarh. Blackstone, which had been in talks for the last six months, decided to back out when Visa Power started negotiating with other PE firms in parallel for a better valuation. (Business Standard)

Indian Overseas Bank To Raise Rs 1,200Cr - The Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) today said that it would require around Rs 1,100-1,200 crore of capital to achieve it’s 25% growth in total business for the present fiscal. The bank has got its shareholders’ approval today for raising the capital through QIB, FII and others. (Business Standard)

Inventure Growth To Raise Rs 80Cr Through IPO - Inventure Growth and Securities, the flagship of the Inventure Group, has received the SEBI nod for its initial public offering (IPO) to raise about Rs 70-80 crore. Of the IPO proceeds, Rs 30 crore will be invested in subsidiary firm Inventure Finance and Rs 20 crore will be used for augmenting long-term working capital requirement among others. (Business Line)